Sustainability and preparing for an uncertain future took centre stage at the launch of #JamaicaObserverDesignWeek 2025, held on Sunday, October 5, at the S Hotel in Kingston. Now in year eight, the event continues its mission to elevate the profile of Jamaica’s home and décor landscape.

“Design Week is not just an event, it is a movement — a living consideration about how we see, build, and inhabit our spaces. How design touches every corner of our lives, and how, through creativity, we define who we are and who we can become,” Jamaica Observer Media Group Managing Director Dominic Beaubrun declared in his opening remarks.

Preparing for that future, this year’s theme, ‘Creative Resilience,’ was perfectly apt, gathering industry experts to offer concrete insights on designing and building for new climate challenges while still creating homey spaces. The panel consisted of National Housing Trust Assistant General Manager – Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Dwayne Berbick; Water Resources Authority Managing Director Peter Clarke; Lucea Caribbean CEO Heather Pinnock; Sagicor Group Jamaica Vice-President – Real Estate Peta-Gaye Simpson; Fosrich Company Limited founder and Managing Director Cecil Foster; and Kitchen/Bath Tune-Up franchise principal Steven Livingston.

Ahead of the presentations, LCH Developments CEO Yangsen Li, whose brainchild, The Pinnacle, is Jamaica’s new, much-heralded residential community, hailed the Jamaica Observer’s continued vision of progress in the design space, while also providing insight into the Pinnacle’s development. “It’s a real honour to be here amongst people who believe, as I do, that design shapes the way we live, not just the way things look. Every line an architect draws, every colour a designer chooses, helps us imagine a better version of our country,” Li said. “When we started dreaming about The Pinnacle, we weren’t chasing tall buildings. We wanted to create something that felt like Jamaica itself — strong, warm, welcoming and proud. A place that could remind all of us what’s possible when creativity and purpose come together. As Design Week begins, I want to thank the Jamaica Observer for creating this platform where design is celebrated and new voices are heard. You help remind us that beauty and progress belong in the same sentence.”

Berbick kicked off the afternoon with ‘From Foundation to Future: Designing For Generations’, a presentation that stressed the importance of long-term planning. For Jamaicans, whose homes are critical investments, construction must be a proactive step to secure the future, Berbick suggested, not simply a reaction to changing environmental conditions.

“The reality for many of our Jamaicans is that they have the opportunity to purchase only one house. It is important [therefore] to create designs that can withstand the test of time, not only in their strength and beauty, but also in their cultural relevance. We want to create structures that can withstand the test of time so that they’ll be able to pass on this legacy to future generations,” Berbick said.

It was fitting that Clarke’s presentation, ‘Water Resources and Development’, followed, given the impact of climate change on water availability. Clarke highlighted the harsh reality for Jamaica’s future supply, stressing that rising temperatures and decreasing rainfall are key factors with serious long-term effects.

“The fact is, climate change is real. It is getting hotter. The year 2023 was the hottest on record. [Additionally] our annual rainfall is decreasing. We didn’t have, for instance, our normal April and May rains. And in the secondary period of rain that we’re now in, we’re seeing a strong decline in [rain] over the last 30 years,” Clarke warned.

Pinnock, presenting on ‘Designing For An Uncertain Future’, highlighted the country’s climate vulnerability, positing that Jamaicans must avoid abusing the limited natural resources on which survival depends.

“About 60 per cent of people live at or near sea level, which means our risk to the further effects of climate change is just phenomenal. We are among the most vulnerable people in the entire globe to the effects of climate change,” Pinnock said. “The idea of sustainability is that you must fulfil your needs today. It’s not suggesting that you suffer today, but that you fulfil your needs without taking more than you need.”

The second half of the discussions began with Simpson’s presentation, ‘Built To Endure’. Drawing on her experience managing high-level projects, such as the construction of the Miami Beach Convention Centre, she underscored the vital importance of adapting to changing circumstances without compromising safety or quality.

“Creative resilience is what allows us to design through disruption, build through uncertainty, and lead through change. It’s not just about bouncing back. It’s about building forward with clarity, conviction, and courage,” Simpson said. “In construction and development, resilience is deeply technical. It’s found in the way we respond to supply chain breakdowns, we sequence schedules under pressure, and maintain safety and quality when the margins are tight.”

Creative resilience extends to lighting, not just through cost savings, but by elevating the space. Making that case, Foster, presenting on ‘The Importance of Lighting in Design’, emphasised that lighting is crucial for transforming a home.

“One of the fundamental things that I have learned is that light does not reveal a space. It transforms a space. And it is one of the most flexible elements out there. When you are designing your space, you must decide what experience you want to have,” Foster said.

Livingston concluded the event by sharing lessons from his time as a franchise owner, highlighting that a successful business must deliver an experience that not only deeply resonates with its customers, but is also fundamentally profitable.

“We don’t sell based on price; we’re selling an experience. And the product that we are selling is the solution that people need. Sometimes they don’t know it,” Livingston said. “But your reputation, the things you stand for, the values that you preserve, will allow you to be able to command that price.”

The evening concluded with the ceremonial cutting of a three-tiered cake from Future Bakery, wrapping up an informative discussion that effectively set the tone for the week’s events.

Jamaica Observer Design Week 2025
is sponsored by The Pinnacle, National Housing Trust, Rapid True Value, ARC Manufacturing Limited, ATL, Ashley Furniture Homestore, Spaces, S Hotel and Harbour Wines and Spirits.

Design Week 2025 recaps continue on Wednesday.

Jamaica Observer Media Group Managing Director Dominic Beaubrun welcomed guests to the eighth staging of Design Week. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

LCH Developments CEO Yangsen Li gave insight into the Pinnacle development. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Jamaica Observer Design Week conceptualiser Novia McDonald-Whyte (second right) shared the frame with presenters (from left) Dwayne Berbick, Cecil Foster, Peta-Gaye Simpson, Steven Livingston, Heather Pinnock and Peter Clarke. (Photo: Gavin Jones)

Enjoying the presentations from the comfort of the Spaces Ja Arcadia Sectional were (from left) celebrity hairstylist Adolph Raynor, Supreme Court mediator Josina Jackson, BlueMar Hardware & Home principals Gabrielle and Tej Banhan, Mystique Integrated Services Chairman & CEO Valon Thorpe. While chairman of the National Artificial Intelligence Taskforce Christopher Reckford secured a spot in the Jessel Shearling Sherpa Swivel Chair. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)